The Last Chair, 1984–1994
The biggest winter in the hill's history, and then its last.
The winter of 1984–85 brought 412 inches of snow, and the staff dug out the Silver Spoon chairs every morning. The cafeteria became the Prospector Grill, and the 1988 trail map showed nine trails, four lifts and the lit night-skiing area.
Then came thin winters. The 1993 Tincup Cup was cancelled, and the Silver Spoon needed replacing. On March 24, 1994, the Harlow Herald reported that the season would be the last. The lifts stopped at 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 27, and Ray Albright rode the last chair down.
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Tincup '85: The Big Winter (1985 poster) -
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Prospector Grill menu, 1987 -
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Tincup Mountain Ski Area trail map, 1988–89 season -
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Family season pass, 1990–91 (Ruiz family) -
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Racing bib no. 1, the final Tincup Cup, 1992 -
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“Tincup Mountain to close after 56 seasons” (Harlow Herald, 1994) -
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Final-season day ticket, stamped “Last Day”, 1994 -
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Last Chair (1994 poster)
“At four o'clock I sent the last chair up empty, the way we always did at closing, and when it came around I rode it down. Then I turned the key.”
Ray Albright, lift operator (oral history, 2009)